The Hand of Death

Armour

Steel breastplates, chainmail, leather tunics, shields… all these and more are readily available in the forges of the villages surrounding Mordheim. That is if you are prepared to pay the price, since armour is very expensive.

If a warrior wearing armour suffers a wound roll a D6. If the dice roll is sufficiently high the wounding hit has bounced off the armour and has not hurt the wearer at all. The dice score required varies according to the type of armour.

The table below summarises the most common armour types and the D6 rolls required to make a save. Note that carrying a shield increases the save by +1. For example, a warrior in light armour with a shield will save on a roll of a 5 or 6. A warrior who has a shield but no armour will save on a roll of a 6.

Minimum D6 score

Armour required to save

Light armour

6

Heavy armour

5

Gromril armour

4

Shield

adds + 1 to the armour save

Armour Save Modifiers

Some weapons are better at penetrating armour than others. A shot from a short bow can be deflected relatively easily, but a shot from a crossbow penetrates armour much more effectively.

The higher a weapon’s Strength, the more easily it can pierce armour. The chart below shows the reduction to the enemy’s armour saving throw for different Strength weapons.

Strength

Save modifier

1-3

None

4

-1

5

-2

6

-3

7

-4

8

-5

9 +

-6

Some weapons are better at penetrating armour than their Strength value suggests (Elven bows, for example). This is covered in the entry for each particular weapon (see the Weapons & Armour section).

Example: Dieter wears heavy armour and carries a shield. His armour save is 4+. He is hit by a crossbow (Strength 4) and therefore he will save on a D6 roll of 5+ (i.e., 4+–1=5+).